Italy bans burqas and niqabs in schools and sets a cap on foreign students

Italy's right-wing government has decided to ban burqas and niqabs in schools and impose a new limit on foreign students with insufficient knowledge of Italian. In the future, foreigners with a lack of language skills should make up a maximum of 30 percent of a class. This was announced by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. She had already announced the regulation at the end of last week.

According to Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara, the legislative decree now passed by her cabinet is primarily aimed at newly immigrated students. Children born in Italy or students who have already attended an Italian kindergarten should generally not be affected. A legislative decree is a measure that the Italian government may initially adopt without parliamentary approval. However, it must be converted into law by Parliament within 60 days of publication.

According to Education Minister Valditara, there are currently around 34,000 classes in Italy in which more than 30 percent of the students are of foreign origin. Most of them are not affected by the new regulation. The decree also stipulates that social services will be involved if a child has significant difficulties integrating into school. The parents then have to attend free Italian courses. Anyone who fails to comply with this obligation must expect a fine of up to 1,000 euros.

Migration and integration are major election campaign topics

A 30 percent limit for foreign students per class has been in effect in Italy since 2010. However, this was previously flexible and could be increased or decreased depending on the language skills of the students concerned.

Facial veils, on the other hand, have been banned in Italy since 1975. Clothing that makes identification difficult without a valid reason has been in effect since 1975. However, the country's highest administrative court ruled in 2008 that full veiling for religious or cultural reasons is permissible as long as the face is shown for identification.

A new parliament will be elected in Italy next year. Migration and integration are among the most important election campaign topics. Meloni is experiencing competition from the right from Reserve General Roberto Vannacci's Futuro Nazionale (FN) party, which was only founded in February. It is not part of the current government coalition and has recently made significant gains in the polls. The FN had already called for stricter action against burqas in schools in July.

According to the Italian constitution, legislative decrees are intended for emergencies. Governments of different political persuasions have been using this instrument regularly for many years, despite criticism from Italian constitutional lawyers.